Highlights from the winter reading lists of the Fort Wayne Library staff. Click on the titles to borrow.

Carol Gibbs, Library Assistant & ILL Extraordinaire

The Joy and Light Bus Company is the 22^nd installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, but don’t let that fact discourage you from diving into this happy novel. Precious Ramotswe is the founder and boss of the business located in Botswana, Africa, and each book soon has the reader up-to-date about her daily life and acquaintances. Although ‘detective’ is part of the series title and cases are solved, the joy of reading is found in the gentle backdrop of normal life in the town of Gaborone, not from some gruesome murder. Being welcomed into a world where there’s always time for a cup of red bush tea while pondering everyday moral dilemmas is a perfect antidote for real-life stress!

The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz is one of those books that won’t let you rest until the last page is turned. Twisty and quirky, this mystery bonds you with best friends Luna and Owen as they navigate through the days after Owen’s wife is murdered. The tale alternates between that tragedy and something similar that forever changed their lives years before, during their college years. Their absolute allegiance to each other over spouses, families or any other obligation sends up red flags to the police and everyone else. The dialogue is pitch-perfect and there’s plenty of humor found throughout the pages as the mysteries evolve.

Anna Brinegar, Librarian

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf. If you still think comics are only for teens and kids, this heavily researched graphic novel will change your mind. The harrowing first person accounts from Kent State students make a compelling and informative book. Also available in eBook

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell. This book isn’t an overview of cults, but a study of language and how groups use words for control and power. This book made me ask, “How does cultish language show up in my daily life?”